Is your research topic too big to cover in a short paper? Is your topic so specific that sources will be hard to find?
Before you even begin your research, start the process with reference sources-- in the Library's Reference Section or online in our databases. Reference books, like subject encyclopedias, can give you a head start and make your research easier in the long run. Use reference sources to:
MOST IMPORTANT: Encyclopedia of Geography
Collections of Many Online Reference Books in one place:
Credo Reference and Gale eBooks / Gale Virtual Reference Library and Salem Press
Oxford Reference and Sage Knowledge Reference also have thousands of scholarly, academic articles, but they are a bit more difficult to use. Click here to find instructions on how to use these collections of reference books.
An Atlas of Geographical Wonders: From Mountaintops to Riverbeds. Reference GA 300 .B 2513 2019
ARCGis Living Atlas of the World
The Borderlands: An Encyclopedia of Culture and Politics on the U.S. - Mexico Divide .
Columbia Gazetteer of the World. Reference G 103.5 .C 65 1998
Cultural Geography: A Dictionary of Key Concepts. General GF 4 .C 858 2005.
Dictionary of Geography. Reference G 63 .E 47 2007.
Elevations and Distances in the United States.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World
Encyclopedia of Global Studies
Encyclopedia of Human Geography.
Encyclopedia of World Geography
Geography Basics. Reference G 116 .G 475 2004.
Geography Today: An Encyclopedia of Concepts, Issues, and Technology.
Glossary of Flood Terms. (floodsmart.gov)
Historical Dictionary of World Political Geography: An Encyclopedic Guide. Reference D 20 .R 16 2001.
International Encyclopedia of Human Geography
Key Concepts in Community Studies.
Key Concepts in Historical Geography. Reference G 141 .M 68 2014
Merriam - Webster's Geographical Dictionary .
Research Guide to Cartographic Resources
Topographic Map Symbols from the USGS.
21st Century Geography: A Reference Handbook
Water Encyclopedia, Volume 2: Water Quality and Resource Development. Reference TD 345 .L 393 2005 v.2